xii, 410 pages ; 24 cm

Short fiction was an immensely innovative art in the medieval Arab world, providing the perfect vehicle for transmitting dazzling images of life and experiences as early as pre-Islamic times. These works also speak to the urbanization of the Arab domain after Islam, mirroring the bustling life of the Muslim Arabs and Islamized Persians and reflecting the sure stamp of an urbanity that had settled very staunchly after big conquests. All the noises and voices of the Umayyads and Abbasids are here. One can taste the flavor of Abbasid food, witness the rise of slave girls and singers, and experience the pride of state. Reading these texts today illuminates the wide spectrum of early Arab life and suggests the influences and innovations that flourished so vibrantly in medieval Arab society ... -- Product Description

I. Pre-Islamic tales. 1. The sons of Nizar -- 2. The priestess of the Banu Sa'd -- 3. Faithfulness and sense of honor -- 4. Al-Nu'man's outfit -- 5. A lowly man gains a wife -- 6. A charitable gift -- 7. A cunning message -- 8. A noble wife -- 9. The exile of al-Harith ibn Midad -- 10. The story of the cave where Shaddad ibn 'Aad was: how the adventurers entered and what happened to them there -- 11. Luqman -- II. Tales of rulers and other notable persons. 12. 'Amara the Faqih and 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan -- 13. The justice of 'Adud al-Dawla -- 14. The piety of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz -- 15. A further story of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz -- 16. The chief of police and Caliph al-Hadi -- 17. At Khosrow's court -- 18. An Arab at Khosrow's court -- 19. I take refuge in your justice, prince of the faithful -- 20. Tricked she was -- 21. Um Asya the midwife and the palace of Khumarawayh -- 22. Yazid and Habbaba -- 23. A ruse of Mu'awiya -- 24. Caliph 'Umar and the soldier's wife -- 25. Al-Akhtal imprisoned in a church -- 26. A miserly governor -- 27. All lies -- 28. Two great musicians -- 29. An attendant of al-Hallaj fasts for fifteen days -- 30. A vizier removes a dessert stain with ink -- 31. How a Baghdadi chief of police questioned suspects -- 32. God alone be thanked -- 33. Al-Hajjaj orders the torture of Azadmard -- 34. Iyas as judge -- 35. The wisdom of Judge Iyas -- 36. Why a judge pardoned a fraudster --

III. Tales of danger and warfare. 37. Ma'n ibn Za'ida and the black man -- 38. Al-Mansour's pride -- 39. With the Byzantines -- 40. Muslims in the court of China -- 41. Greed and treason -- 42. Consequences of oppression -- 43. Avoiding a conflict -- 44. The Byzantine rulers and the Muslim prisoners -- 45. From The lion and the diver -- IV. Tales of religion. 46. The tale of Ka'b ibn Malek -- 47. The tale of Jurayj the worshipper: showing how attending to parents has priority over prayer -- 48. The tale of the crevice people, and of the magician, the monk, and the young man -- 49. The tale of the leper, the bald man, and the blind man -- 50. Virtue and divine reward -- 51. A vision of the next world -- V. Comic tales: Tales of Juha. 52. Juha as a vehicle for satire -- 53. The comic wit of Juha -- 54. Juha the fool -- 55. The logic of Juha -- 56. Juha the judge -- Other comic tales. 57. Abu 'l-Qasim's slippers -- 58. The party crashers -- 59. Me too? -- 60. A quick-witted prisoner -- 61. Al-Hajjaj and al-Muttalib -- 62. A cunning marriage broker -- 63. Forgery on a shaky boat -- 64. A tempting wager --

VI. Tales of the strange or supernatural. 65. The strangest story -- 66. I shall never eat elephant flesh -- 67. A dream come true -- 68. The body snatcher -- 69. The old tailor and his untimely call to prayer -- 70. Crime and punishment -- 71. An unlucky encounter -- 72. The man and the lark -- 73. Two surrealist stories from the desert -- 74. The story of Tamim al-Dari -- VII. Tales of love. 75. A love story -- 76. A strange vow -- 77. A merchant and his wife -- 78. A final meeting -- 79. A party crasher's reward -- 80. Parting and reunion -- VIII. Excerpts from seven major classical works. From Ibn Tufail, Hayy ibn Yaqzan -- From Al-Jahiz, Al-Bukhala' (Book of misers) -- 83. From Ibn al-Muqaffa', Kalila and Dimna -- 84. From Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa (Epistles of the brethren of purity) -- 85. From Al-Maqamat (The assemblies) -- 86. From Abu 'l-'Ala' al-Ma'arri, Risalat al-Ghufran -- 87. From The adventures of Sayf Ben Dhi Yazan: an Arab folk epic

Includes bibliographical references and indexes

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